This was a big game for Fulham and the fact
that we had sold out the away end (which
rarely happens with Fulham) meant for a
quality atmosphere. Even though Fulham had
played at Loftus Road for a season, I had
never been, and having heard some good and bad
things about the ground I was intrigued to
find out for myself.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the
ground/car parking?

Very easy. I went for the overground method
and got off at Shepherds Bush station having
changed at Clapham Junction. A short walk up
Uxbridge Road, and the ground is signposted in
big letters to turn on to Loftus Road. The
Police on the road were then directing away
fans to the upper and lowerís tier of the
School End.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy....
home fans friendly?

As I was running late I didnít get a chance to
stop off to sample the local pubs or anything,
so stopped off at a Greggs and picked up a
quick sausage roll and a cup of coffee.
Uxbridge Road is full of restaurants and pubs
so there are ample places for fans to
congregate before the game.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground,
first impressions of away end then other sides
of the ground?

First impressions on entering the away end
were skeptical. There seemed to be a temporary
cage set up, where stewards were searching
every fan as they came in, before letting them
down a narrow walkway towards the turnstiles.
I donít know if this was because it was a
local derby or if this is standard practice?
The turnstiles were electronic barcode
scanners as is in most grounds now, before you
walking up a set of steps into the narrowest
concourse I have ever seen. Nowhere near
enough for 1,500 people. Luckily I was in
block Y6 nearest to entrance so scooted
straight up and took my seat, second to back
row of the upper tier.

I had bought myself a restricted view ticket
to save myself a bit of money, and having read
other fans opinions on the views on the web
thought I had made a mistake. However the view
was brilliant. All I really couldnít see was
the end of the goal net of the goal nearest to
the School End. Fulham fans to my right of me
in the Ďwingsí area of the stand seemed very
disgruntled about their view though.

The game was always going to be a tasty and
competitive for a few reasons. Firstly it was
a local derby, and Fulham had beat QPR 6-0
earlier in a season. The Ďrelationshipí
between the clubs always wasnít helped by Mark
Hughes joining QPR talking about ambition, and
Bobby Zamora swapping white for blue &
white just a few weeks earlier.

We started the game on fire. Andy Johnson
having a goal disallowed within 90 seconds,
before Russian marvel Pogrebnyak sent the away
end into delirium after 6 minutes. Fulham
bossed the first-half, with QPR also seeing
new signing Diakite sent-off before the break
after committing a series of stupid
challenges.

The Fulham fans were in great voice all game,
mainly with songs having a dig at Hughes,
Zamora and QPRís ambition. I was very shocked
at QPRís atmosphere at home, with it being
such a tight ground, Iíd have expected 15,000
supporters being able to make a racket easily,
however that never seemed to come. Fulham had
their backs against the wall all second-half,
and after a few scares came away unscathed and
with a big 1-0 win over our local rivals.

The stewards at the ground seemed very easy
going with fans standing and no one was kicked
out as far as I could see. The one thing they
didnít take too kindly too were two banners
brought in by fans slating Mark Hughes and
goading QPR for the 6-0 score earlier in the
season.

6. Comment on getting away from the ground
after the game:

Getting away from the ground was as easy and
getting there. It takes a while for the fans
to filter out from the away end due to
stewards only letting fans out from one side
of the stand due to safety reasons, however
after another short walk down Uxbridge Road
trying to avoid some of the trouble Fulham and
QPRís younger Ďfansí were trying to start, I
was back and Shepherds Bush and into Clapham
Junction within 15 minutes.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

A great day out made by the atmosphere of the
away support and overall result. Part of me
hopes QPR do stay up this season so there is
another local derby to go to next season, as
it seemed to be one that every Fulham
supporter on the day enjoyed. The ground
itself wasnít as bad I had thought it would be
too, and if QPR do stay up, I will definitely
be visiting again next season.